Classical guitarist inspires with music

Pablo Sáinz Villegas works with children to break down barriers

SAN MARCOS — Hundreds of children in San Marcos and San Diego this week experienced live classical music from an internationally acclaimed Spanish guitarist, thanks to arts officials and educators in North County.

After a sold-out performance Sunday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, Pablo Sáinz Villegas visited schools to share his passion for music and the lessons he’s learned along the way to becoming a professional artist.

“Kids don’t really have all that many opportunities to have professional artists visit their schools, so it’s a tremendous gift when artists and art centers make the availability,” said Merryl Goldberg, arts department chairwoman at Cal State San Marcos, who arranged the visits.

Goldberg said 120 fourth-graders were mesmerized by Sáinz Villegas on Monday at King Chavez Arts Academy in San Diego. On Tuesday, he spent several hours with eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders at High Tech Middle and High School in San Marcos.

Sáinz Villegas’ friendly and humble interactions with the San Marcos students gave no hint of his status as a world-renowned musician with more than 30 international awards to his name.

“I’ve been traveling around the world,” Sáinz Villegas told eighth-graders. “Sometimes I spend more time in airplanes than my own home. But it’s a great experience to speak the universal language of music.”

During hourlong sessions, Sáinz Villegas dazzled students on his guitar with brief lessons in harmony, rhythm and melody, sampling flamenco and tango. He asked students to close their eyes as they listened to a piece called “Memories From Alhambra” that’s meant to evoke the waters of the Spanish city of Granada.

Sáinz Villegas started playing guitar at age 6, and soon knew that he wanted to be a professional musician. Now 35, he said he became a professional only six years ago.

“How many years was I practicing before I became a professional? 23 years,” he said, describing years studying in Madrid, Germany and New York City. “Little by little, my dream was coming alive. It wasn’t easy.”

Sáinz Villegas moved to Germany at 19 to study, and said that at first he was very lonely. He spoke no German; he had no friends. “I had two options: Go back to Spain or endure the experience,” he said. “I stayed, and I wouldn’t be here with you if I didn’t stay.”

Speaking to schools isn’t unusual for Sáinz Villegas. Early in his career, he knew he wanted to share his love of classical music with children. In 2007, he founded “The Music Without Borders Legacy,” an outreach program, with the San Diego-based International Community Foundation and the Foundation for the Protection of Children in Tijuana. The project has brought classical music to more than 10,000 children and funds music programs in Tijuana.

Between sessions Tuesday, Sáinz Villegas said that one of the most important goals for him during school visits is to inspire children. He said he wants not only to bring them classical music, but “to make them feel things through music they probably haven’t felt before.”

“It’s important for me to transmit values of my life, experiences … to share this experience and let them realize they can achieve anything in life … if they make the right decisions.”